


betray the moon as acolyte on first and fierce affirming sight of sunlight

by solivagnant



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M, Sailors, Sirens, no character death i swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:28:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24939817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solivagnant/pseuds/solivagnant
Summary: Something was in the water.He leaned against the balcony again, at first he thought it was a dolphin, but dolphins didn’t have scales and they most certainly did not have golden scales. It was a quick glint in the moonlight, Seokmin would’ve missed it if he hadn’t been looking at the water so intently. He stares and stares at the shifting waves but all he sees is the silver reflection of the moonlight against the dark water. Closing his eyes tightly, he shakes his head, he must have spent too much time out in the sun.As he walks down into the ship, he can’t help but feel like that was a lie.
Relationships: Lee Seokmin | DK/Wen Jun Hui | Jun, Lee Seokmin | DK/Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8, Lee Seokmin | DK/Xu Ming Hao | The8, slight cheolsoo - Relationship, slight gyuhan
Comments: 7
Kudos: 72
Collections: Enduring Dawn Round 1





	betray the moon as acolyte on first and fierce affirming sight of sunlight

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt:  
> Seokmin as a sailor. Junhui and Minghao as rival sirens. Seokmin is caught by their singing, but because the two of them are fighting, he doesn't drown. Instead, he falls in love
> 
> Hope I did your prompt justice! Also I know close to nothing about sailors and ships, please don't roast me ;A;
> 
> title from "Sunlight" by Hozier
> 
> thank you again mods, prompters, and writers/artists all for creating such a wonderful fest!

\---

It is the jarring crash emitting from the galley that rouses him from sleep. His head raises slightly from his pillow, eyes squinting towards his door, disgruntled at the commotion. The tumbling sound of whatever it was had stopped. The man rests his head back onto his soft, cushiony pillow to willfully ignore the brief disruption. The warmth of the sunlight radiating through his porthole and the almost rhythmic thundering footsteps above him nearly lull him back to sleep, whatever happened in the galley seems to have sort itself out since the silence was restored. 

He must have only been asleep for a few more seconds when he hears Jeonghan’s exasperated “Kim Mingyu!” 

He opens his eyes. _Ah, so_ ** _that’s_** _what that sound was._

Seokmin tiredly pushes away the blankets and stretches his arms, groaning when he hears the _pop_ of his back. Sitting up, palms pressing against his eye sockets, he blearily squints at the clock mounted on the wall across from him. It was noon.

He slept in. 

Jolting out of his bunk, pulling on the first pair of trousers and shirt his hands could snatch out of his drawer in his haste, he stumbles into the washroom to prepare for the day. 

Emerging into the galley, hair wet, face scrubbed clean, and an excuse for his tardiness on the tip of his tongue, he is welcomed by the sight of a disgruntled yet slightly endeared Jeonghan cuddled by a miserable Mingyu. 

Seokmin eyes Mingyu wearily and looks into the trash bin, there are shards of porcelain and baked beans in it. A frown forms on his face and before he can even say anything, Mingyu mumbles a soft and sincere, “I’m sorry.” Jeonghan, still busy stirring even with a giant hanging off his back, says nothing but the soothing pat against the arm wrapped around his waist says more than enough. 

Moving away from the trash bin, Seokmin decides to drop it. Jeonghan probably scolded the man enough already. 

He picks up a plate stacked in the sink and begins washing it, “Is there anything you need me to do?” 

Jeonghan turns off the stove and moves the pot onto the table before turning to look at him, “Nope, Mingyu and I have breakfast covered. You can see if Captain Choi has any tasks that haven’t been assigned for the day yet.” He huffs, the burst of breath flicking the long, dark strands of hair away from his face. “I saw the light of your lamp last night and knowing you, you stayed up late with your nose in a book. I told Mingyu to let you sleep in.” 

Sheepishly, he thanks the two to make his way up the steps to the deck, turning before he is subjected to watching Mingyu gently push Jeonghan’s hair away from his face and tying it with a spare band he keeps on his wrist.

Opening the hatch to the main deck, he smells the briny sea wafting through the air before he is blinded by the rays of the sun. The boisterous chatter of the seamen bustling about, the crashing sounds of the waves against the ship, and the screech of the gulls flying above them greet him. 

“Look who’s finally awake!” the familiar and ebullient voice calls. 

It was Choi Seungcheol, their captain, waving at him from the forecastle deck. Seokmin smiles back brightly, and hurries across the deck to meet him. Once he reaches the forecastle, Seungcheol ruffles his hair, his rough hands pat him on the back. “Good morning, or rather good noon,” the captain drawls. Seokmin grins timidly, “Good noon, captain.” 

“Well, no need to ask if you’ve had a good night. I’m assuming you’re here to start your day, yes?” Seungcheol smirks, hand heavy on his shoulder he turns Seokmin around to face Chan and Soonyoung huddled together, “You can help those two with laundry.” 

His smile falters; _of course there was a catch to this._

The captain chuckles and pushes him towards the two men sorting out the clothing and turns back to his own work. 

“Hyung! Hurry up! We still need to wash this last batch and we can spread everything out to dry!” Chan yells, hands holding tightly onto one handle of the basket while Soonyoung holds the other rather precariously. 

Seokmin laughs as Chan starts nagging at Soonyoung to stop swinging the basket because “if the clothes fall off and fly into the ocean Jeonghan hyung is gonna kill me!”. 

-

The sun was setting just as the three men finished folding all the clothes and distributed it back to the proper owners. Seokmin extends his arms above his head and winces when he feels the skin on the back of his neck stretch tightly. He must have gotten a sunburn, he goes into the washroom to confirm in the mirror and whines when reddened skin reflects back. 

He exits out and walks into his room, “Hyung, do you have any aloe?” 

The bespectacled man lying on the top bunk raises his head, lines of his bedsheets imprinted onto his cheek. He yawns and points at the box on top of their shared drawer. 

Seokmin pulls out the jar of aloe and sits on his bed, his arm reaches behind to try to apply the aloe when he hears the bunk above him creaking.

Wonwoo had plucked the jar out of his hands and made his way down the ladder before sitting next to him. “Dummy, you can’t even see your burn. How are you gonna apply it correctly,” he teases. 

“That’s why I have you, Wonwoo hyung, to look after me,” he replies back cheekily.

“Brat,” Wonwoo throws back but he applies the gel delicately and chides Seokmin, “You always forget to cover the back of your neck when you’re out on the main deck. At this point you should be paying me for all the aloe you use up.” 

Seokmin laughs and glances back at the older man, “Yeah, but you won’t because you care about me, right?” 

Wonwoo doesn’t respond but the sharp poke on his side makes him laugh harder. The man often looked stoic and disinterested, but it wasn’t a secret he had a soft spot for the younger men in the crew, always making sure to look out for them. 

“I’m so glad we’re docking tomorrow, I can’t stand another day in this room with you.” The man deadpans, Seokmin only hums amusedly in response, “You say that now but when no one is around to talk about your books with you, you’ll come running.” 

Wonwoo huffs jokingly, the puff of air tickling his neck, and gently nudges the back of his head, “You’re done. Just make sure to stay away from any more sun for a little while, ok?” He turns to place the jar back into the box just in time for the dinner bell to ring signaling dinner. 

Wonwoo and Seokmin glance at each before they’re scrambling down the hall into the galley, playfully shoving to beat the other to the table first. 

Mingyu is staring intently at the pot while Jeonghan is sitting leisurely at the table with his own bowl of rice, dried fish and seaweed soup. Mingyu beams when he sees Wonwoo and Seokmin enter, followed closely by the rest of the crew. 

Wonwoo grabbed the first bowl but passed it to Seokmin before taking his own and walking to the table. 

Seungkwan’s melodic humming can be heard through the hall before he enters the galley, in his arms is a large glass jar of kimchi, “Mingyu hyung, here you go.” He tiptoes to set the jar onto the counter and grabs his own bowl of rice. Mingyu turns away from the stew and gives him a grateful smile, canines flashing briefly.

“It’s a good thing we’re docking tomorrow, that’s the last jar we have left.” Seungkwan says around a mouthful of mackerel, turning around in his seat to watch Mingyu pour half the jar of kimchi into the stew. Hansol giggles when Seungkwan accidentally bangs his elbow against the back of his chair. This causes Chan to crack up and thus causing a chain reaction of laughter around the table and concerned “What happened? What’s going on?” from those just entering the galley. 

Seokmin smiles as he takes a bite of his food, eyes crinkling as he watches Soonyoung attempt to catch the pieces of mackerel that Jihoon tosses into the air. Seungcheol jokingly scolds them for playing with their food, “Yah, Mingyu and Jeonghan worked hard making dinner. Stop wasting it.” Both men tilt their head downward, chastened, but quickly forget once they start shoving food into their mouths. 

As the night winds down and bellies are filled with warm food, each man slowly leaves the table to go to their respective washroom and bedrooms to turn in for the night. Seungkwan and Jihoon, who are slotted to work the overnight shift, get up from their seats, thank Mingyu and Jeonghan for the meal, and leave to begin their tasks. 

Wonwoo leaves not too long after, patting Seokmin wordlessly on the back before yawning and walking towards the doorway leading out of the galley. 

Seokmin looked around, there was only Mingyu, Jeonghan, and Jisoo left. Jeonghan and Jisoo were on washing duty as Mingyu finished eating his dinner. Seokmin grins and wishes them a goodnight before heading up the stairs to the main deck. Pushing the latch open, the vast dark sky above him was filled and scattered with stars. Walking up to the deck and towards the side of the ship, he tilted his head back and gazed at the sky. It was a good night, there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky and the ship was far out enough that the grey streak of the Milky Way can be seen running from one edge of the visible sky to the other. 

He rests his arms on top of the balcony railing, leaning his body against the ship, and looks out into the ocean. The darkness used to unnerve him but the bright moon above illuminated the waves, painting the waves a glittering silver and midnight blue. He rests his chin on his arms and listens to the euphony of the waves colliding against the ship, the rushing of the foaming waves as the ship cuts through them, and the sharp whipping of the wind through the sails. He smiles as the occasional pod of dolphins that break through the ocean’s surface, fly through the air, and once again disappear into the water. 

Yawning, he moves to leave and turn in for the night when he sees something. He stiffens. 

Something was in the water. 

He leaned against the balcony again, at first he thought it was a dolphin, but dolphins didn’t have scales and they most certainly did not have _golden_ scales. It was a quick glint in the moonlight, Seokmin would’ve missed it if he hadn’t been looking at the water so intently. He stares and stares at the shifting waves but all he sees is the silver reflection of the moonlight against the dark water. Closing his eyes tightly, he shakes his head, he must have spent too much time out in the sun. 

As he walks down into the ship, he can’t help but feel like that was a lie. 

\---

He is woken by the violent shaking of his bed frame, he blearily glances over his shoulder to see Wonwoo clumsily climbing down from his top bunk. It was barely light out judging from the sight outside his porthole. Seokmin turns around to lazily press his cheek against the cool surface of his pillow, Wonwoo probably woke up to beat the crowd to the shower. 

The lithe man shot him an apologetic look once he realized he was awake, Wonwoo whispers, “Sorry, you can go back to sleep. Unless you want to claim the other shower? I don’t think anyone else is awake.” He turns to rustle through his drawer for fresh, clean clothes, “I heard Jihoon walking down the hall after we docked but I think he was heading to his room to catch up on sleep.” 

Seokmin hummed, “No, I think I’m gonna sleep a little longer. I showered last night after dinner and someone else might need more time to shower. I’ll just wait my turn to brush my teeth and wash my face once everyone’s done.”

No one wanted to show up at the harbor looking scruffy and haggard, of course, life on the sea can be rough but everyone had some pride in their appearance. This often meant eleven men having to share two washrooms at the same time if they wanted to spend a nice full day on land wandering the city. 

He must have dozed off as the next time he opened his eyes Wonwoo was dressed and rubbing some solid perfume on his neck. Wonwoo was patting on sunscreen when they met eyes, he grinned, “And so the baby is finally awake.” Seokmin scrunches his nose and whines, “Don’t call me that, we’re only a year apart.” 

Wonwoo snorts, “When you start wearing sunscreen properly I’ll consider it,” he picks up his satchel and ducks his head out their door quickly, “I think Hansol’s done with the washroom by the way, he was the last one of the bunch.” He turns back to look back at Seokmin, his eyes glinting with mirth. 

“A few of the crew are going to be heading out to town right now so if you came back out, don’t get scared we didn’t abandon you.” Wonwoo jests, his eyes crinkling and lips trembling with laughter threatening to burst. Seokmin glares back playfully, he puffs his chest, “I’ve been on the ship for over three years now, you can’t keep teasing me about that.” 

Wonwoo chuckles and ruffles the pouting man’s hair before nudging him towards the direction of the washroom. Grumbling, Seokmin pushes the door leading into the washroom. 

As he ambled his way down the hall, walking past the open doors of his fellow sailors and smiling at those who saw him, he was stopped by their Captain. 

“The crew are planning on winding down at the local tavern in the evening if you have the time for it. I know you, Soonyoung, and Seungkwan are probably going to be running all over town wrecking havoc but save some energy for dinner with us.” Seungcheol looks at him pointedly. 

Seungkwan, who was checking his bag not too far from them, looks up indignantly, “God, you accidentally knock over a barrel of wine _once_ and you’re titled the Walking Destruction in the ship.” 

“You’re also omitting the fact that the wine then came into contact with candles and nearly burned down the bar.” Soonyoung peers from over Seungkwan’s shoulder, lips formed into a scowl, “They still don’t let us back in there whenever we stop by that island.” 

“Details, details.” the young man sighed, waving his hand dismissively, “It’s not like it burned down. Mingyu hyung managed to put it out before it actually caused any damage.” 

Seungcheol only looks back at Seokmin, tired and resigned. He can only smile back sheepishly before ducking past the Captain, looping his arms between both Soonyoung’s and Seungkwan’s, he grins widely, “I’ll keep an eye on them, Cap! No fires here, promise!” 

He can see Seungcheol attempting to retort but is silenced when Jisoo and Jeonghan ambush him from behind, “Yah! Get off!” Seungcheol yells as he tries prying off Jisoo’s arms from his neck, Jisoo manages to climb onto his back and cheers triumphantly, “You lost the bet, Cap. You gotta carry me from here to the end of the dock.” 

With their dear Captain distracted, the trio walk away quickly before he can scold them even more. The bright sun greets them as they exit the ship, the crisp breeze caresses their faces and the gaggle of chatter from the neighboring sailors and fishermen fills the air.

“Come on! We’re only here for three days, let’s look around.” Soonyoung’s excited voice pulls him out of his thoughts. 

As he ran after Soonyoung and Seungkwan, the sky clear and blue above them, he couldn’t help but smile. 

-

The sun was just about to set when Seungkwan got pulled into a fruit stand, the aunties calling him and anyone within hearing range to try their produce. Seungkwan made the mistake of making eye contact with one of the ladies and from the look on her face, he won’t be leaving until he buys something. Seokmin and Soonyoung avoided eye contact and sent a quick _sorry_ as they shuffled away. 

However, it had been in vain as Soonyoung, in his haste to steer clear from the fruit stand, met eyes with a jeweler a few steps away. Soonyoung was already being bombarded with inquiries and persuasive gestures. Seokmin weaved through the crowd as quickly as possible, it was only when he stumbled upon a lonesome street did he realize how far he had run. 

The street lamps were lit, dimly illuminating the stores around him. Turning around, he could see the crowd a couple of feet away and decided to just wait here until Seungkwan and Soonyoung either managed to escape or spent enough money for the merchants to let them go. 

It was the soft tinkling bell that caught his attention. Dragging his eyes from the crowd, he turned and faced the small, quaint shop to his right. It was nothing out of the ordinary; it had dark brown, wooden walls and a simple cream colored sign hanging above him, it was just like any other shop. 

But it was the name that sparked something. 

_Trinkets & Tronkets: For All Your Needs. _

The handle of the door was oddly cool on this heady summer evening, he timidly pulled the door open and the same tinkling bell sounded at his entrance. 

The shop was filled with house plants, it was chaotic yet organized. The branches and leaves were overgrown yet did not overlap and tangle within each other. Mismatched shelves were filled with jars of unknown liquids, crystals were neatly stacked near the window, and there was a lingering scent of sage wafting through the air. He leaned to peer at the rings and necklaces displayed on the table near the crystals. Some gold and other silver, the rings with the small gems caught his fancy. He looked at the detailed signs that were propped up on the table. They were beautifully hand-written, swooping and curly letters delicately written in black ink on parchment. However, it was the content written on the sign that caused him to furrow his eyebrows in bewilderment. 

_Gemstone Rings - Must trade_ _two good memories_ _per ring of truth_ _and_ _three good memories_ _per ring of remembrance._

“Hello.” 

He startles, his breath caught in his throat and he coughs roughly to dislodge it. Standing up straight, he faces the source of the voice. 

She had long, sleek black hair and short bangs framing her heart shape faced. She smiled sweetly and offered him a cup of water from her counter. 

Grasping the cup, he bows his head slightly in thanks and takes a sip of water. He gazes at the vines wrapped around the beams of the ceiling, the young woman at the counter waits patiently as she goes back to organizing the stones and gems in the glass display case. 

After gathering his wits, he gently places the cup back onto the tray next to the pitcher and the lady tilts her head up from the colorful gems, “Welcome to _Trinkets and Tronkets_ where we have every knick-knack, tonic, and salve for your every need,” she chimes. “Were you interested in purchasing one of the rings?” 

He shyly nods, she must have seen him when he entered and his cheeks color in embarrassment for not having noticed her when he walked in. 

“I didn’t see any prices listed, how much are they worth?” He gestures back to the display, “I wanted to buy one of the gemstone rings.” 

Her eyes gleam, “The prices should be listed, I wrote them myself.” She walks around the counter and leads him back to the display, “Which one were you looking at?” 

Turning his eyes back to the array of rings, he finds himself drawn to a silver ring. It had two small diamonds on either side of a marquise cut pale blue gem, his hand had already unconsciously picked it up. 

“Ah! A truth ring.” Her red lips curl in a grin, “Celestite works wonderfully to clear the mind and speak the truth.” She lifts her hand palm up, confused he places the ring onto her hand.

“No, silly! Your payment!” Even more confused he turns to the sign: _Must trade two good memories per ring of truth_.

“Just think vividly of two happy memories,” she takes his hand and closes her eyes. 

Baffled, he closes his eyes as well. The first memory he conjours is the first time he held his older brother’s first child. It had been his first time home since becoming a sailor and in his time away, his kind brother met and married a lovely young woman and thus created one of the most beautiful creations his eyes laid upon. His heart still warms when he thinks of his niece’s open smile as she looked up at him and her light gurgling sounds as she wiggles in his arms from happiness. 

The next memory was the first time he left home, when he became an official member of the crew. He was aboard _Mansae_ and he can still envision the sight of the endless sea in front of him and the overwhelming emotion of freedom and autonomy. The wind rushing wildly through his hair and his shirt billowing behind him. The heat of the sun felt like an embrace. 

When he opened his eyes, the woman was beaming, that was when Seokmin realized he had stumbled upon a real witch’s shop. She let go of his hand and dropped the ring into his open palm, “Thank you for your patronage and your memories. I hope the ring serves you well!” 

Before he can thank her, Seungkwan and Soonyoung barge into the shop, “There you are! We were looking for you, we ran into Wonwoo and Hansol and they’re heading to the tavern for dinner.” The men bow towards the shopkeeper sheepishly at their loud entrance before pulling Seokmin towards the door and out the shop. He hastily puts the ring on his right middle finger in the midst of the chaos, it fit perfectly. He was only able to turn around briefly to thank the witch before the door closed and he was tugged back into the bustling streets. 

-

By the time the trio arrived at the tavern, _Three Branches_ , the crew seemed to have drunken themselves tipsy. Seokmin sits in an open seat next to Jeonghan, who immediately latched onto him, “I missed you so much, I haven’t seen you in forever,” the man slurred. Mingyu giggled madly as Jeonghan nuzzled his head into Seokmin’s neck. 

“You saw me this morning, hyung.” He attempts to slide his arm out of the long haired man’s grasp but that only causes him to hold on tighter who then whines out,“Why are you being so difficult, just let your hyung hug you.” Seokmin lets out a sigh and looks over at Mingyu, who only shrugs with a resigned smile. He can hear Soonyoung and Chan snicker from the other side of the table, he leans back to glare at them from around Jisoo. They shoot him cheeky smiles and stand up to get more drinks. 

He feels the weight on his chest get heavier, he looks down and sees Jeonghan passed out on his chest. 

Mingyu sighs fondly, “I told him to take it easy, but you know how he gets, probably thought I was challenging him.” He stands up and gently pries Jeonghan off of Seokmin. “I’m gonna get back to the ship, anyone else going back?” 

Jisoo gets up to help maneuver Jeonghan onto Mingyu’s back, “I’ll head back with you guys. I gotta make sure Jihoon woke up and ate something, that gremlin could sleep for twenty-four hours straight if no one was around to wake him up.” 

Soonyoung and Chan come back with more drinks as Hansol gets up to join the small group turning in for the night. Seungkwan takes a large sip of lager while waving to the group. Seungcheol lets out a deep sigh, he too gets up and surveys the table, “I’m going back too, I trust you’ll all stay out of trouble?” 

His eyes linger on Seungkwan and his eyes narrow to stare judgingly at Soonyoung and Chan mixing drinks at their corner of the table and turns to Seokmin, “I’m entrusting them to you. Bring them and yourself back safely with the tavern in one piece _please._ ”

Seokmin, who had been taking a drink from his own ale, looks up startled but gives the Captain and thumbs up. After swallowing the gulp and grins, “You can count on me, Cap!” Seungcheol smiles back, albeit a little apprehensive but decides he was too tired to nag and walks away with a wave over his shoulder. 

The remaining four men clink their glasses and order more plates of food, forks and spoons moving ceaselessly to fill their stomachs. 

“Seokmin, can you go grab me some more water, I think the waitress is busy over there,” Soonyoung gestures towards the woman being bombarded by a family of eight relaying their orders. 

He nods and quickly stands up from his chair, stumbling only slightly from the alcohol. He shoots a thumbs up back at the group when Chan starts laughing, “I’m good!” 

As he waits to catch the attention of one of the bartenders, he hums softly, it was a full house and peak hours for ale and lager was reaching its climax. He taps patiently on the wooden counter, a few minutes go by and he meets eyes with one of the men working when he feels someone lean against the counter to the right of him. Thinking it was Soonyoung, he raises a hand to pet the back of his head to placate him, “You’re always so impatient. I’ll get your water, don’t worry.” 

“I was thinking a nice pale ale, but if you treat everyone this nicely I can start with water.” The voice was definitely _not_ Soonyoung. It was a velvety, higher toned voice. Turning around abruptly, Seokmin discovers Soonyoung was _not_ Soonyoung but rather a tall, slim man. He had dark burgundy hair that fell over his eyes slightly, but it did nothing to cover the amused glint in his eyes. He was slim but well built and he was just tall enough that Seokmin had to tilt his head back slightly to meet his gaze.

“I’m assuming you were expecting someone else,” Not Soonyoung says. A corner of his lips tug up in a teasing smile, “I’m Junhui.” The man offers a hand and Seokmin, distracted, takes the hand clumsily and shakes it gently once before letting it go. 

“I’m-” his voice cracks, “I’m Seokmin. Nice to meet you.” He can feel the back of his neck start to get hot, “Sorry, I thought you were one of my friends. I’m supposed to be getting him some water.” Mortified, he steps aside to give Junhui a little more space, which quite frankly wasn’t a lot considering the busy bar, “Sorry, was I in your way? I’m sure you were trying to order something.”

Junhui tilts his head, his smile growing wider, “No worries.” He leans over the bar, “Yangyang, a pint of pale ale and a pitcher of water!” A young man from behind the bar waves back in understanding, “It gets really chaotic around here but it helps to know the bartenders.” He winks at Seokmin, who immediately blushes. 

“Thanks, I was starting to get scared I’d be here til closing.” Seokmin says thankfully, he finds himself forcing himself to stare at the space above Junhui, his heart couldn’t bare looking at the beautiful man directly in the eyes. 

“Are you visiting from somewhere? I come by here pretty often and I’m sure I’d recognize you.” The red haired man’s eyes travel from Seokmin’s flushed cheeks down his lips and stops at the base of his neck, “We don’t have a lot of good looking folks around here.” 

Seokmin’s blush spreads, he ducks his head down to keep the other man from seeing how the comment affected him. “My crew and I are stopping by for a short rest, we trade textiles and clothing for our island. We’re in the middle of our route. We’re just in town for a few days to rest and restock on essentials before continuing the rest of the route.” Seokmin adds as he steps aside to let the waitress walk past him. 

Junhui’s eyebrows rise, “Hm, I don’t think I would’ve ever expected you being a sailor.” 

“I’ve only recently joined, I’m still pretty green in comparison to some of the others. You should see Mingyu, his biceps are probably the size of my head.” Seokmin says shyly, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. 

Junhui stands a little straighter, “No, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Just-” his eyebrows furrow, “It’s just that some of the sailors that stop by are brutish. You’re very sweet.” 

“Oh.” He purses his lips to keep himself from smiling too much, “Thank you.” 

“Junhui! Your drinks are ready!” Yangyang lifts the pitcher and glass up in the air and jerks his head, signaling the man to come pick up his drinks. 

Junhui signals back with an ‘okay’ sign and turns back to Seokmin, “I’ll go get them. You stay right here, I’ll be back.” 

He nods and the man disappears into the crowd of people still waiting for their drinks to be made. It had only been moments when he felt someone leaning against the counter next to him again. As he turns to face him, he lets out a giggle, “Wow, you’re fast.” 

Only it hadn’t been Junhui. 

It was a man, about the same height as Seokmin, with black hair grown out to the nape of his neck. He has multiple piercings on his ears and stacked bracelets on his thin wrists. His fox-like eyes are piercing. 

“I thought I waited the appropriate amount of time before approaching someone at a bar, I must have been too eager.” The man muses, his arm stretched out on the counter, his fingers lightly brushing against Seokmin’s arm. 

“Oh no! I thought you were someone else,” he blurts out, “He told me he was coming back after he got his drink.” 

“What a gentleman.” The stranger scowls jokingly, he flicks his head, his long bangs swept softly to reveal the softness in his eyes. “I’m sure I’ll be far better company. I’m Minghao.” 

Seokmin was both confused and flattered as it wasn’t often that people approached him with that intent but Junhui would be returning soon, “I’m-”

“Seokmin, here’s your water.” Junhui interrupted, he then caught sight of the lanky man next to him, “Oh.” His tone turned flat. His face soured slightly but quickly switched to a grin, “I see you’ve made another friend.” His smile seemed pinched, like he was fighting the urge to frown. 

“Junhui, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” Minghao greets just as unenthused, his lips pressed into a tight smile. 

“Likewise. I thought we had come to an agreement the last time we met.” Junhui cocks his head.

Sensing the tension, Seokmin gently takes the pitcher of water from Junhui’s hand, “I’ll be heading back to my table, I’m sure my friends are wondering where I am.” 

Junhui nodded but kept his eyes on Minghao, who stared back disinterested. 

He darts away from the two men and returns back to the table. Chan and Soonyoung looked long passed out and Seungkwan was sitting there frowning, “Where were you? Watching these two was a nightmare!” He looks at the pitcher of water in Seokmin’s hands, “Did it really take half an hour to get a pitcher of water?” 

Seokmin shrugs his shoulder but before he could explain Seungkwan was already hauling Chan up, trying to support him with Chan’s arm slung across his shoulder, “Never mind, I’ve been waiting for you to get back we can lug these two back onto the ship. _You_ get to deal with Soonyoung.” 

Groaning, he sets the pitcher down and stops a waitress nearby to pay for their table. Seungkwan was already waiting by the door with a still unconscious Chan slumped on his shoulder. Seokmin manages to carry Soonyoung up from his slumped position and stands him up on his feet. Soonyoung probably woke up at some point but fell back into a daze. He was conscious enough to stay standing but needed Seokmin as a crutch to walk. As Seokmin navigates past the other drunken people wandering about the tavern, he is completely unaware of the two men following him with their eyes. 

\---

Seokmin decides to stay on the ship the next two days, his legs are sore from all the walking they had done the day before. After he had told Wonwoo the reason for him staying behind, the older man simply snickered and said, “Three years on a ship and you're still out of shape.” 

He ran quickly out of the room cackling when Seokmin held up a pillow threateningly. 

He spent the day reading, napping, and lazing around. He made an early dinner with the ingredients Mingyu restocked the fridge with. After washing the last of his dishes, he finds himself back on his bed, curtain of his bunk drawn back to let the moonlight illuminate his book. He had turned off his lamp since he was planning on turning in for the night, but just as he placed his book back on his bedside table, he heard a distinct thump above him. 

He waits for other footsteps but only hears a single person walk about on the deck. Looking at the clock, it was only nine in the evening. Could it be Jihoon? 

He leaves his room and starts walking down the hallway when another thump is heard. There were two people on the deck. Stopping briefly he heads into the galley to pick up an iron pan before making his way to the stairs that lead up to the main deck. Leaning his ear against the latch he can hear two voices, both irate and angry, it was too muffled for him to make any coherent sense of it, but it didn’t sound like Jihoon or anyone from the crew. 

He leans away from the latch but accidentally hits the pan against the beam. It let out a dull ringing sound, closing his eyes he prays the people above didn’t hear him. 

But they did. 

The arguing had stopped. 

Suddenly one voice begins singing, wispy yet enchanting. Seokmin felt his body relax. His hand unlocks the latch, he needed to hear more of it, he needed to hear it in all its entirety. He felt strange, he could see his hands opening the door but he knew he wasn’t the one commanding it. He pushes it open. 

It was Minghao and Junhui. 

Dazed, Seokmin walks up the remaining steps and stands in front of them. Minghao stares him down, then opens his mouth and sings again. 

Seokmin’s hand unclenched and the pan dropped onto the floor with a loud clang. 

Junhui pulls Minghao’s arm to face him, whispering incessantly, face full of panic. 

He can feel his body turn to the side of the ship, he walks calmly but Seokmin starts to panic when his legs start climbing onto the railing. His mind is screaming at him to stop, that he’s going to fall over into the water, that he’s going to drown because the water was too deep. But his body continues to climb until he finds himself standing on the beam. 

His legs tense up to jump but he stops. 

Another voice began to sing, one that was thinner, higher but still hauntingly bewitching. It clashed with the first voice that had enslaved his body and Seokmin found himself regaining control of himself. 

Slowly, he turned around to face the two men, they were facing each other singing angrily. 

“Junhui?” He croaked. But they didn’t hear him, they kept singing, weaving the ancient language into the air. His body once again felt strange, “What’s happening to me.” 

He gently jumped from the railing to the deck, his steps led him back to the two men. They were frighteningly beautiful, even when fighting. The moonlight bathed them in her glow. Minghao’s face was slightly shrouded in darkness, his back to the moon, but the jagged, sharp lines on his face made his heart beat wildly. Junhui’s face was radiant, the moon’s light kissed him gently. Junhui’s hair was slicked away from his face, Seokmin was enraptured. The slope of his nose and the scattering of constellations on his face, Seokmin wanted to kiss every mole, every imperfection. 

He didn’t know how long they had been fighting, but he didn’t care. 

He could look at them forever. 

Junhui, frustrated, breaks his gaze from Minghao and glances at Seokmin. He freezes, he turns back to Minghao and gestures to the sailor. Scowling, the man also turns to look at Seokmin. 

It is silent on the ship. The only sound that can be heard is the waves crashing against the hull. 

“Seokmin? Are you alright?” Junhui whispers. 

He says nothing. 

He is entranced, bewitched, and so entirely spellbound. 

“Shit.” Junhui opens his mouth, the olden language once again flowing from his lips and Seokmin falls asleep. 

\---

When he wakes up, he sees the familiar outgrown vines climbing up the wooden beams on the ceiling. He lifts his head and softly groans at the dizziness and ache in his head. He looks at his body and finds a thin blanket covering him. Disoriented, he tries to retrace his steps to remember how he got to _Trinkets & Tronkets _ . He was in _Mansae,_ getting ready to go to bed and then. 

And then. 

“Oh, thank goodness you’re awake.” 

Once he meets Junhui’s eyes, his body melts and his heart feels at peace. He smiles, but Junhui looks disturbed. He abruptly gets up from his seat and leaves the room. 

It was like a switch, Seokmin is again lost and scared. He doesn’t remember how he got here. He was just about to get off the couch to find someone when a woman walked into the room. It was the witch from the day before who had sold him the ring. 

“Hello,” she approaches slowly, like he was a frightened animal, “I’m Seulgi, do you know where you are?” 

He nods hesitantly, “I’m at _Trinkets & Tronkets, _but I don’t know how I got here.” 

She looks at him apologetically, “Junhui and Minghao brought you here. Do you remember why?”

Taken aback, he shakes his head. 

“Junhui and Minghao,” she says irritatedly, “those stupid, prideful idiots.” She exhales loudly, “They’re Sirens. They were planning on robbing your crew but neither had anticipated the other being there. They don’t exactly see eye to eye on a lot of things and unfortunately you got caught in the middle of it.” Her gaze turns pitiful. 

“I’m afraid I can’t cure it but I can work around it.” 

He looks up at her, “But I feel fine?” 

Shaking her head, “That’s because they aren’t here. Sirens when working together can tear down ships and brew chaotic storms but when they clash violently,” she looks up from her hands, “They can ensnare a human life to them. It evokes the _Siren’s Call._ ” 

“When you see them, you’ll be utterly devoted to them. You’ll lose complete autonomy and seek to live for them.” She pulls out a vial from the pocket of her long black skirt, “I was able to brew a potion however it is only a temporary fix, this isn’t a spell I can reverse. The only way to cure a _Siren’s Call_ is for the Siren to return the feelings of devotion and love.” 

Overwhelmed, Seokmin feels nauseous, “And what are the chances of that happening?” 

Once again, she looks at him, “Not very likely.” Her lips pressed together in a thin line. “Sirens often abuse their powers and the human becomes a puppet for the rest of their life. They are permanently bonded to the Siren, when the Siren dies the human dies.” 

Seokmin’s heart stopped, it was like he stopped breathing. His hands start shaking.

She steps closer to him and takes a seat on the edge of the couch, “Junhui and Minghao, for all their faults, have proven to be righteous. They will fix this.” 

She offers him the vial, “The potion only lasts for twenty-four hours. The _Siren’s Call_ only affects you when you see them. Even if the _Call_ is never reversed, I can assure you, Junhui and Minghao will never use it against you.” She places the vial onto the palm of his hand. “They wanted to talk to you.” 

“I don’t want to see them. Not right now.” He whispers. 

She nods, “I’ll let them know.” 

He opens the vial, looking at her warily, “Are you sure it’ll work?” 

Seulgi meets his gaze, fierce and determined, “Yes.” 

He tilts it back and flinches at the bitter, metallic taste of the potion. Seulgi offers him a hard candy, he attempts to smile but the knowledge that his life now belongs to the two men on the other side of the wall still unnerves him.

-

It was still dark out when he left _Trinkets & Tronkets. _She assured him he had only been asleep for a few hours. As he ambled down the empty cobblestone street towards the port, he turns the events over and over again in his mind. He was terrified, he had no recollection of what happened just a few hours ago. It was just a dark hole, a blank page which now leads to a completely different story than he had planned. 

He heard footsteps behind him. He stopped and they stopped as well. 

“I thought I told Seulgi that I didn’t want to see you.”

They were silent. 

“I’m sorry.” A quiet, wispy voice whispers back. 

He inhales sharply, resisting the urge to look back. Even though he’s already consumed the potion, he still fears losing himself. 

He closed his eyes and continued walking. 

-

The crew were worried when he arrived at the ship. He didn’t tell anyone he’d be gone so late, or early rather since it was now four in the morning, but he had brushed it off as him wanting a stroll around the town to get some air. He tried joking that the air in the ship was getting stale, but it fell flat and he could tell they weren’t convinced. But they let him be and he escaped to his room. 

Lunging into his bed, he buried himself underneath his sheets and prayed the next morning that he would wake up and this was all a terrible nightmare. 

\---

He was outside on the port a few hours later helping Mingyu and Seungcheol carry the last few barrels of dried fruits and meat into the ship. He was alone carrying the last barrel when he heard someone calling his name. 

It was Junhui. 

He was standing uncertainly a few feet away, wringing his hands on the hem of his shirt. Seokmin felt nothing; no tug on his heart, no loss of control. 

“Good morning.” Seokmin offers a small smile. 

Junhui attempts a smile, but it looks more like a grimace. “I just wanted to apologize. Neither Minghao or I were purposefully trying to enact a _Siren’s Call_.” He looks down and pulls something from his pocket, “I want to make it right.” 

It was a vial, the same one Seulgi had given him last night. 

“If I fall in love with you, the _Siren’s Call_ is broken.”

“What about Minghao?” 

“Huh?” Junhui looks up startled. 

“Am I also tied to him? It wasn’t just you who did this to me, it was partly him as well.” 

Junhui bites on his bottom lip, eyes darting around avoiding his gaze, “Seulgi and I have discussed at length the repercussions and possible scenarios of what this means, of what could happen.” 

He takes a deep breath to steady himself, “She’s going to be contacting the rest of her coven, Seulgi doesn’t have the resources to research this herself. The rest of her coven will be returning to the island in a few days. But I want to do this, I want to fix this.” 

Junhui raises his head and looks into Seokmin’s eyes, “I’ll bring you the potion every day until one day, I fall in love with you and you will be free.” 

\---

They were back on the sea, it had been five months since _Mansae_ departed from the quaint little town. Five months since his soul became bonded to two Sirens. Five months since Junhui vowed to fall in love with him and free him. 

There were days when he forgot. 

When he forgot that if he ever caught sight of Junhui and Minghao, that he would become possessed by some terrible magic that robbed him of his own will. But then at night, when he sees the glint of something in the water, he reels away from the balcony. His crew found his sudden aversion of the sea concerning, but no one was willing to come forth to ask. 

He moved on with his life as he had before, but every morning he woke to find a small vial tucked into the pages of his book. 

“Captain says we’re docking at the port tomorrow. Said something about starting to get sick of staring at nothing.” Wonwoo eyes the younger man, the sudden shift in Seokmin’s behavior on the ship was something everyone noticed, “If you ask me, I think he just wanted to finally take Jisoo on a date somewhere where we can’t tease him.” 

Seokmin giggles softly and shifts so he can look up at the man from his bottom bunk, “Don’t make fun of him too much or he’ll sulk all week and we’ll be at the mercy of Jisoo hyung.” 

They both laugh at the image of Jisoo terrorizing everyone. After a few moments they calm down and Seokmin is lulled to sleep. 

“Seokmin?” 

“Hm?” the man hums back sleepily. 

“You’d tell me if anything was bothering you, right?” 

“Yeah, hyung.” 

“Ok.” Wonwoo holds back the question he’s been wanting to ask since five months ago. He peeks down at the bunk below him to find the younger man fast asleep. 

Lying back down on his bed, he sighed. Seokmin will come to him when it was time. 

\---

This morning felt different, Seokmin thought. It was eerily quiet for a morning docked on harbor. Usually the crew would be bustling getting ready for the day but there was nothing. He snuggled deeper into his covers and sunk into his bed, everyone probably left already while he slept. 

He felt himself slowly drift off when he felt a hand gently carding through his hair. Its caress traveled from the back of his head to the nape of his neck and repeated all over again from his forehead. The soothing sensation kept him grounded. The hand gently cupped his cheek and a glass was pressed to his lips. 

The taste was what woke him.

The familiar bitter, tangy metallic taste. 

Junhui is here, he’s here in his bed petting his hair and feeding him the potion. 

His instinctively leans away, partly in fear and partly in disbelief. His hand lifts from his covers to touch the Siren. He had only ever known of Junhui’s presence through the potions. 

“Hi.” Junhui whispers softly. 

“Hi.” Seokmin pulls back the covers and offers the Siren a hand. 

Junhui grasps it gently. 

-

They sat in a small cafe, Seokmin with a cup of tea and Junhui with a glass of water. 

“It’s been a long time since I was able to see you.” Seokmin states, his teeth worrying at his bottom lip. 

Junhui leans his arms on the table, chin resting on his hands, “I wanted to give you time. I didn’t want to push you, I realized that-” his face twists in regret, “I realized my plan was rather egregious. We’re strangers, I essentially forcefully bonded you to me. It would’ve been cruel to have you look at me every day knowing I did this to you.” 

Seokmin nods solemnly, “Thank you for that. I think it made living on easier that way.” 

The Siren tapped nervously on the table, “I’ve been in contact with Seulgi, the head of her coven, Joohyun, asked around about reversing the _Siren’s Call._ She stated that in order for it to be completely reversed, Minghao will need to complete his end as well. Even if I manage to free you, you’ll still be bound to him.” 

He nervously runs his hand through his dark red hair, “The problem is I don’t know where Minghao is. I haven’t seen him since that night.” His eyes darken, “Funny considering all I’ve ever wanted was him to get off my territory and suddenly when I need him, he’s disappeared.” 

Seokmin says nothing, quietly taking in all the information, “We’ll just have to wait.” 

Shocked, Junhui lifts his head, “What?” 

“Seulgi told me you would make this right. Including Minghao. You’re here now, you’ve been here for five months delivering me the potion. You’re here now trying to right your mistake. I trusted her judgement and it was right and as a result I trust Minghao.” He takes a sip of his tea, “Let’s give him some more time, I don’t know him but I think he feels like he must repent for what he did.” 

Junhui looks at him, eyes gleaming with something tender, “You are truly an admirable human, Seokmin.” he says.

-

They walk slowly, side by side in the cool evening. It was when they neared _Mansae_ did Seokmin muster the courage to ask, “That night,” he stopped walking, “Were you really going to rob us?” 

Ashamed, Junhui looks away from him, “There aren’t many ways Sirens can make money. We can’t walk on land long enough to live a life above the water. We walk on land but it’s like losing a part of yourself, the longer we are on land, the more difficult it is to change back.” He looks up at Seokmin, but his eyes aren’t quite focused on him, “We can’t survive in the sea alone. Sirens are a communal species, but we’ve been dying off.” He gazes at the sea, “Other than Minghao, I can’t remember the last time I met another Siren.” 

“So that night, at the bar, were you just scoping for a target?” 

“Yes.” 

Seokmin grabs the Siren’s arm, “Was Minghao trying to kill me?” 

Junhui’s face breaks, a scowl forming on his face, “That is where Minghao and I differ, I’ve learned to just take what I need but Minghao. He’s reckless and selfish and greedy and, I think,” his face softens as he thinks of the Siren, “I think he’s been alone for too long. He only has himself to rely on and if there’s a risk a human discovers him in their ship rifling through their things. He’ll do anything to save himself.” 

“When I realized what he was doing I tried to stop him but it had only aggravated him, he thought I was challenging him.” He faces Seokmin, eyes full of sorrow, “I’m truly sorry.” 

“I don’t think I can forgive you.” Seokmin says, the Siren nods slowly in understanding, “but I think I will eventually.” 

Surprised, Junhui takes Seokmin’s hands in his, “Really?” 

Feeling the ring’s cool surface on his skin, Seokmin smiles, “Yes, I think I will.” 

-

The vials continue to make their appearance, however they are also accompanied by small gifts. 

Vibrant yellow sunflowers pressed into the worn pages of his favorite book, sea shells left on his bedside table, and delicate earrings crafted from smoothened sea glass dangled on his curtains. 

He keeps them tucked safely into the bottom drawer of his dresser, cheeks aflame a lovely blush pink. 

Some days, when _Mansae_ is docked, Junhui gently wakes him up and after drinking the potion, they watch the sunrise together. 

“Why did you become a sailor?” the siren asks, his head resting on the sailor’s lap, eyes closed in content. 

Seokmin’s hand paused from carding through the Junhui’s red locks, “Hm, if you're looking for an interesting story, I’m sorry to say it’s very ordinary.” 

“Try me.” Junhui tilts his head up, looking into his sailor’s eyes.

Sighing, he looks around into the waves crashing onto the sand, it’s white foam bubbling away before the water retreats back to its home, “My older brother inherited our father’s butcher shop, which was fine, I was never really meant for that kind of work.” Junhui’s soft hands felt the calluses and scars on the sailor’s palms, wondering which were caused by life on the sea and which were caused by handling a large butcher’s knife. “He always said I was too soft for it. I had a habit of naming the livestock, even though he scolded me for hours on end when I cried after they were slaughtered.” 

A fond smile formed on his face, “It was either working in the mines or other manual labor around the town. I love it there, but I always felt like there was something more than just a life on our little island, you know?” 

Turning his gaze back out to the ocean, he stretched his hand out to the horizon where the sea met the sky, “Everyone in our small town knew each other and knew each other’s stories. But I wanted to know what else was out there, the world is so vast, it felt like a waste to not explore it.” 

The siren gazed up at his sailor, marveling at the sun rays radiating on him and turning his dark hair a golden brown. His eyes lingered on the sole mole that dotted the curve of his cheek and felt his breath catch, looking at Seokmin felt like the moment when he broke the sea’s surface and took a breath of air. 

“After I break this spell, I’ll bring you to all the beautiful places you want.” Junhui whispered.

-

It was like Seokmin had regained a part of himself again. The wind rushing through his hair as he watches the sun dip into the sea, the sky around him turning yellow, pink, orange and shifting into a pale blue. The crew have sensed something changed in him as well, he can look out into the water without inciting fear in the pit of his stomach, without feeling a heavy weight in his chest. 

Because in the sea, there is Junhui. 

-

It was three months later when he saw Minghao. 

He was in the market with Junhui when he caught sight of the jet black hair and piercing eyes. He grasps Junhui’s arm to get his attention, “I think I just saw Minghao.” They search through the crowd of people walking by to spot him. 

The dark hair Siren stood there silently. As if waiting, as if testing if Seokmin was afraid of him. 

Holding Junhui’s hand, Seokmin takes a step closer. Minghao’s eyes widen, his body stiffens but he stays still. 

Weaving through the crowd around them, Seokmin and Junhui arrive in front of him. Seokmin carefully steps closer, “Minghao, I’m not angry anymore.” 

The Siren’s eyebrow twitches, lips pursed in skepticism. 

Seokmin sighs, “Junhui told me that the _Siren’s Call_ can’t be reversed completely unless the both of you fall in love with me.” The Siren makes no reaction. 

“In these past few months, I’ve learned to forgive Junhui, I’ve forgiven you too.” The burgundy haired Siren gently squeezing his hand, “I think we can live on from this, you don’t have to force yourself to love me to set me free.” 

“Why.” 

Startled, Seokmin’s eyes darted to meet Minghao’s solemn eyes. 

“Because I don’t want you to feel indebted to me. Let’s just let things be, you’ve punished yourself enough, don’t you think?” 

He scoffs, “So what, we just live on forever like this?” His arm swings out gesturing to the three of them.

“I think we can learn to co-exist.” Minghao looks at the human in disbelief, he turns to Junhui who only offered a small smile. The black haired Siren only presses his lips in a thin line before he turns to leave without a second glance. 

-

The dim lights of the tavern made it hard to read the menu for the specials listed for the night, but Seokmin was about three pints of ale into the night and was in the mood for any food at this point. To his left Jeonghan and Seungkwan were terrorizing Seungcheol into letting them have one more round before going back to the ship. Both were tipsy but everyone knew from experience that one more pint would push them over into a chaotic mess that would only get worse with them feeding off each other’s energy. 

Mingyu had been sneakily persuading Jeonghan to take a few bites of food in between him trying to get the Captain to order another pint of lager and it seemed to be working to sober up the man. 

Seungkwan narrows his eyes at the couple, nose scrunched up in disgust, “God, we get it you’re married,” and turns back towards Seungcheol, “now you’ve really gotta get more alcohol, I don’t know how much longer I can stand looking at their cuteness.”

Wonwoo snickered into his cup of cider, “I’d rather you not burn down this bar, I quite like the food here.” 

Sneering, Seungkwan raises a finger. Hansol chokes on his beer, half coughing and half laughing. The table descends into chatter, veering from one topic to the next. Seokmin was too busy scanning the room, hoping to tail down a server. Pouting he turns back to a table just in time for a server to swoop in and place a ginger ale in front of him, he looks up confused, “Sorry, I didn’t order this.” 

“This is from the gentleman over there,” he jerks his head gesturing to the corner across from their table. 

Like the nosy bunch they are, the crew swerve their head to see who it was.

It was Minghao. 

“Ooohh.” Chan sings, looking mischievously to the older sailor, “Someone seems to have caught the eyes of a very handsome man.” 

The grin on his face feels tight, he lifts the glass towards Minghao as a cheers, and takes a small sip. 

The crew spend a few more minutes jesting and teasing Seokmin over having been flirted with, the conversation quickly jumps to another victim when Mingyu accidentally knocks a bowl off the table resulting in them groaning at the tall man’s clumsiness. 

Peeking back to the corner of the tavern, Minghao was still there, eyes locked on him, like he was waiting. 

Placing the mug back down onto the table, Seokmin takes a deep breath before standing to walk over to the siren. 

Soonyoung wiggled his eyebrows playfully as he passed him, the rest of the crew “ooo-ing” as they watched him. 

He could feel his palms dampen, he wasn’t scared of Minghao, but he was definitely nervous. Junhui has always been open and frank with his feelings and thoughts. Minghao, when not putting on an act, is the complete antithesis of everything Junhui is; aloof, reserved, and unapproachable. 

“Can I take a seat?” He asked softly, so soft he wasn’t sure if Minghao had heard him over the ruckus of the tarven. 

“Yes,” the siren answered, voice steady and calm, “I wasn’t sure if you were going to come.” 

“I didn’t know if you wanted me to.” Seokmin quelled the nerves inside of him, Minghao _was_ waiting for him. His fingers fiddle with the gemstone on his finger, “But I’m glad you’re here.” 

It was quiet, neither party wanting to breach the topic in fear of opening a can of worms. 

“You said,” the siren abruptly stops to take a sip of his drink, Seokmin could see his fingers trembling, “You said that I’ve punished myself enough. What did you mean?” 

“Junhui told me sirens can’t survive alone, that you need a community. He said he hadn’t seen you since that night,” he looked up to steal a glance at Minghao, “I haven’t seen you since that night outside of _Trinkets & Tronkets.” _

“You said you didn’t want to see me.” Minghao states back, voice tight and sad. 

His shoulders slumped, “Yeah, I did.” 

“I really am,” the siren’s hands tighten around the glass, “I’m _so_ fucking sorry. I disappeared because I figured it was best for you. You wouldn’t ever be affected by the _Siren’s Call_ if you never saw me again. I was going to quietly,” he wrings his hands, “I don’t know, just _exist_ away from all of this. I didn’t want you to be constantly reminded of what I did to you.”

“Minghao, my _life_ is tied to you, if you died-” 

“It works both ways; when you die, I die as well. I was going to live somewhere, probably in the Arctic,” he shrugs, but Seokmin could see the tension in him, “just live isolation until you died. You didn’t deserve any of this.” 

Seokmin’s heart ached with sorrow, Minghao was willing to subject himself to an existence of loneliness for him. 

“You’ve got a really big case of savior complex,” Seokmin sighs, eyes tender and lips slightly lifting in a smile. He slowly moves his hands across the wooden table to take Minghao’s slender fingers, “We could’ve figured something out together, the three of us.” 

Minghao inhaled sharply, the coolness of Seokmin’s ring felt like ice against his warm skin. 

Seokmin held his hands so tenderly, so delicately. His palms, rough with calluses, held him so gently, his thumb soothingly rubbing the back of his hands. 

He felt something well up in him, it felt so sudden, so all encompassing. 

Minghao quickly extracted his hands from the sailor’s grasp and stood up abruptly. 

He took one more glance at the sailor before turning to leave.

\---

After his abrupt departure, Seokmin found Minghao’s presence manifested in various things. 

The small pebbles of colorful sea glass tucked in his bag, the glass of ale sent to his table while at the tavern with the crew, and the occasional physical appearance in the crowd where Seokmin is only able to catch a glimpse of him. 

“He’s been alone for so long, he’s probably forgotten what it’s like to be with someone.” Junhui murmurs into Seokmin’s hair. His breath lightly caresses his ear, “He’s trying to apologize but he’s scared of you.” 

“Why would he be scared of me?” 

Junhui’s hand cups his cheek, “Because you are like the sun, my darling.” 

-

Seokmin opens his eyes lazily, peering at the clock on the wall, he slumps back onto the bed in relief when he sees that it was five in the morning. He peers up at the bunk above him, Wonwoo is deep asleep, mouth agape and hair matted. 

After quickly washing up and brushing his teeth, he slips up to the main deck and sits by the balcony, watches as the sun rises and paints the sky with her golden rays. He looks down into the water and waits for the teal and purple scales to appear. 

He waits in silence, listening to the roaring waves and the flapping of the sails above him. Then he hears it, the three knocks against the ship. Scrambling from his sitting position, he looks down to see Junhui’s face above the water. He feels himself smiling widely, stands back to allow space for Junhui to climb onto the deck. He wraps a towel around the Siren, hands rubbing the towel on the Siren’s sides to help dry him off. 

“Good morning,” he mumbles into the nape of Junhui’s neck. 

“Good morning, my sun.” The Siren gently cups Seokmin’s face, tilts his face downward to meet his lips. 

He procures the vial from the small satchel tied around his neck, “Open up.” 

“Is that really necessary?” Seokmin muses, eyes still tired and cheeks flushed from the cold, Junhui grins back. 

“Never know if Minghao will choose to appear today, better be safe than sorry.” He pecks Seokmin delicately on his temple. 

Junhui begins to dress himself with the clothes Seokmin laid out for him, watching as Seokmin drinks the potion and chuckling when Seokmin’s face scrunches up at the taste. 

Endeared, he takes back the vial, pulls his sailor closer to him and kisses him, “Something sweet for something bitter,” and kisses him again. 

-

Junhui was apprehensive when he had seen where _Mansae_ had docked. The Malsano Isles had a history of fishing and gutting Sirens. Sirens were a thing of old myths now but the imagery of hunters standing valiantly over the bodies of his kind gutted him. Seokmin seemed to notice something was off, but he shrugged it off. These were the few days he could spend with Seokmin, he’d take every moment he can. 

The market was empty as it was still early morning. They walked slowly, reveling in the time together. 

As they ventured further into the town, Junhui stiffened at the sight of scales being sold as jewelry. There was no possible way of it being real, but just the thought of a Siren skinned for it’s scales caused a shiver to run down his spine. 

Thinking he was cold, Seokmin faced him, “Do you want to go inside somewhere? It’s a little chillier than usual this morning.” 

Junhui nodded, his arm wrapped firmly around Seokmin’s shoulder, he steered them into a small shop. He couldn’t escape the imagery, it was everywhere. On the sides of the book shelves, Sirens were etched into the wood, tools used to hunt and capture Sirens were used as decor, and it seemed Seokmin realized what was wrong. His hand held his tightly and they exited the shop. 

“Let’s go to the pier,” Seokmin said softly, “away from all of this.” Junhui nodded jerkily, holding tightly onto Seokmin’s hand. 

They’re sitting on the edge of the pier, watching the boats pass by. Seokmin tucked closely to his side, they sat together just watching. 

He felt Seokmin stiffen, “Junhui, I think I see Minghao.” 

Sitting up straight, he turns around, “Where?” 

Seokmin was looking into the water, “Over there.” Orange scales flashed briefly against the surface of the water before disappearing deeper into the water. Junhui stood up, the boats nearby were starting to cast out their nets. Fear welling in his gut, he attempts to get into the water. 

“Wait, Junhui! You’ll get caught too,” Seokmin pulls him back, “I can’t let you go, it’s too dangerous.” 

“But what about Minghao, who knows what’ll happen to him.” Junhui cries, “ You saw this town, they’ll kill him.” 

The large nets are cast out and the net on the boat and the men start the engine, they were going to drag the net around to change as many fish as they could in the water. 

Junhui jumps in, he feels the bones in his legs crack and morph together again. He swims quickly and sees Minghao get caught in the net, golden tail beating around wildly in a frenzy. He frantically pulls at the net and panics when he hears something else move in the water. 

It was Seokmin. 

He was swimming towards the net, a small pocket knife drawn to cut the net. Junhui swam over next to him, trying to hold the net taunt enough for him to cut through. The ropes of the net are thick, by the time he cuts through one, Seokmin has to resurface for more air. The net was still moving and Minghao was getting more and more tangled as time passed. Seokmin came back down and tried cutting it once more, Junhui tried his best to unravel the net so Minghao could escape. Just as Seokmin cut the last rope, Minghao swam out quickly. The boat was starting to reign in the net, in the chaos of Minghao and Junhui frantically swimming and Seokmin trying to resurface, the human gets wrapped into the net. 

Panicking and losing oxygen, he tries to rip himself free but the net is already surfacing. Junhui tries to pull on the net, the men on the boat are yelling excitedly. 

They see the tails. 

One of the men brought out the hunting spear, Junhui tugs harder and a second pair of hands appear to help wrap the net around Seokmin. 

Minghao grabs the sailor as Junhui peels the last of the net off of him. Just as they were about to escape, the spear pierces the water. 

Right into Seokmin. 

-

Running, Junhui and Minghao carry Seokmin across the harbor, blood dripping down onto the wooden planks. Minghao bangs onto the ship, hoping someone is still there. 

Wonwoo looks over from above and sees a two wet young men, peering closer he recognizes the man in their arms is Seokmin. 

Launching himself away from the railing he opens the door from below to allow them onto the ship. 

“Please, you have to help him,” the dark haired man begs, his hand pressing onto the wound in Seokmin’s abdomen. Wonwoo runs to get Jeonghan. 

Oh, Seokmin what have you gotten yourself into. 

-

Jeonghan and Mingyu exit Seokmin's room, turned into a makeshift patient room. 

“We managed to stitch up the wound, it wasn’t deep enough to pierce anything vital but he’ll be in pain for the next few weeks.” The crew breathe a sigh of relief, the tension in everyone’s chest melting away. 

Wonwoo stared at the two men who brought Seokmin to them, they were hastily dressed in the clothes provided by Hansol and Soonyoung to replace their wet clothes. 

“Who are you.” A stern voice questioned.

Seungcheol looked darkly at the two men, “Why was Seokmin injured?” 

The two Sirens looked at each other warily, it was time to confess. 

-

Seokmin woke up, dehydrated and aching. His abdomen throbbed with pain, groaning he attempted to get out of bed. 

“Slow down there buddy, don’t need you reopening your stitches.” A gentle hand eases him back onto the bed. 

Seokmin opens his eyes to see Wonwoo setting down a book. 

His mind races, what happened to Junhui? What happened to Minghao? How did he get back to the ship? 

Wonwoo peers at the young man from above the rim of his glasses, “We leave you be and you get yourself bound to a pair of Sirens. What a handful you are, Seokmin.” 

“What?” He croaks. 

The bespectacled man pours him a glass of water, after having downed it all he turns to look at the older man, prompting him to explain. 

“The two Sirens, Junhui and Minghao. They brought you here.” Wonwoo pinches the bridge of his nose, “Seungcheol interrogated them as soon as Jeonghan and Mingyu got you patched up.” 

“Oh.” he replies, “So they told you everything.” 

Nodding, Wonwoo places the cup back onto the table, “Yup, everything.” He sighs, “Why didn’t you tell anyone.” 

“I had it under control.” Seokmin states, avoiding his gaze, “It’s not like I was in any danger. Junhui swam every day to give me the potion and Minghao he-” Seokmin stops abruptly, “He’s never done anything to harm me.” 

Wonwoo stares at him, then nods in understanding. Walking towards the door, he opens it to reveal the two Sirens on the other side waiting worriedly, “They’ve been standing here waiting the past two nights.”

Indignant, Minghao shoves past Wonwoo to sit next to Seokmin. Junhui follows in quietly, walking around Wonwoo. 

“Well, I’ll let everyone know you’re awake.” Wonwoo smiles and leaves, shutting the door behind him. 

“You stupid human.” Minghao seethes, “You put yourself in danger! You got yourself hurt! Junhui would’ve been able to get me free by himself, you didn’t have to put yourself in danger for me.” His voice wobbles. 

Junhui’s hands cup Seokmin’s, “I’m glad you’re fine, what Minghao means is that he’s thankful for your help but he’s too ashamed to admit it.” His elbow sharply nudges the dark haired Siren, who yelps from pain. 

Minghao looks into Seokmin’s eyes, “I’m truly grateful. You didn’t have to risk yourself for me.” He then looks bitterly at his hands, “Well, actually you probably did it because you’re still bound to me. If I die, you’d die as well.” 

Mustering up the strength, Seokmin leans up from his bed, “Minghao, I didn’t save you to save myself. I did it because I wanted to.” 

Gazing into Minghao’s eyes, he carefully places his band on Minghao’s, the cool touch of his ring caused Minghao to flinch, “I did it because I love you.” 

\---

Feeling the cool sheets against his skin made him sigh, it felt like sweet relief from the sun shining brightly through the porthole. It was late in the day but he was still in bed. Turn blindly, he chuckles when he feels the familiar fingers pressing down on his hips, “Stop moving so much you’re going to wake Junhui,” a wispy voice rasps. 

“Sorry,” Seokmin whispers back, he tucks his head underneath Minghao’s chin. His lips brushing against his clavicle, Minghao giggles sleepily. 

“Remember to write back to Seulgi later, her apprentice keeps sending us vials.” Junhui murmurs from his end of the bed.

“It’s been months since Seokmin has taken it, she needs to organize her notes better.” Minghao mutters. Seokmin hushes them both tiredly. Junhui immediately falls back asleep, his slow breaths warming the back of Seokmin’s neck.

“I love you,” Minghao whispers, his lips brushing delicately against Seokmin’s temple. He can only smile drowsily and presses a kiss directly over Siren's heart. 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!!! 
> 
> follow me on twitter: @blushingbud


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